Ex-Celtic man makes surprising claim about Rangers' 2012 demise
The Ibrox club's financial implosion led to their demotion to Scottish League Two in 2012. They didn't return to the top flight until 2016, and Matthews thinks Rangers' absence wasn't beneficial for his old team or the Scottish game in general.
"I think if you ask anyone, honestly, no one wanted it," he told RecordSport.
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"You might speak to some Celtic fans and, yes, they'd be buzzing that Rangers are struggling.
"But I don't think it was good for the league or for Scottish football. And I think if you ask any Celtic player, even the most diehard Celtic fan, if they're being honest, they'd rather Rangers in the league because it's a massive game.
"It's the one you look forward to the most in the calendar. So, yeah, it was a big miss for us. But at the end of the day, we just had to do our job, and we won that league comfortably. But I think the league's better when Rangers and Celtic are in it."
Celtic cruised to the title in the first season after Rangers' demotion. Matthews was asked whether a lack of challenge contributed to some of his old side's lacklustre performances: "Yeah, you'd like to say no, but that probably is in the back of your mind," he said.
"There are some other tough games in Scotland. But, like I said, Celtic vs Rangers is the main one. Even when it's Rangers, we played them in the cup a couple of times, and just the atmosphere is what you want to play in front of."
Matthews now plies his trade with Shamrock Rovers after departing Celtic in 2015.
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